In some interactive systems, visual elements can be implemented in an interface. In some such systems, the visual elements are organized in a tree structure (i.e., an element tree). The various elements of the element tree can have properties and resources that can be “inherited” by other “child” elements of the element tree. Further, the visual elements may be implemented using graphics primitives such as brushes, pens, transforms, geometry and the like. For example, a button being displayed in a user interface (UI) can be implemented so that it has a specified background color. However, the graphics primitives are generally not linked to the element tree in a way that allows the graphics primitives to use the inheritance features of the element tree. This background information is not intended to identify problems that must be addressed by the claimed subject matter.